Facebook fan's challenge to meet 730 friends face-to-face

A social media fan has set himself a challenge to be reunited with every single one of his 730 Facebook friends in person.

Daniel Shaw, 38, has Facebook friends all over the world and has vowed to meet each one face-to-face.

The youth worker has set himself the challenge of meeting at least 730 within a year – meaning he needs to meet an average of at least two a day to hit his target.

Since he launched the ambitious plan in August – reminiscent of a TV series by comic Dave Gorman – Mr Shaw has already notched up 129 'meets' with a range of people.

After wife Emma, 36, volunteered to be the first friend on his list, Mr Shaw has reconnected with former colleagues, schoolmates and other long-lost pals thanks to the project.

He has even started carrying his custom-made 'Facebook Friend' T-shirt with him everywhere he goes – after people started stopping him in the street.

So far Mr Shaw from Stoke-on-Trent, has travelled to Manchester and Birmingham to meet friends.

However, he fears a costly travel bill as his friends list stretches all the way to Japan and Australia.

Mr Shaw embarked on the challenge after his cousin bet him that he had not met everyone on his friends list.

Mr Shaw said: "He said to me 'you've got so many Facebook friends, but surely you don't know them all?' so I thought about it and then it turned into this challenge.

"It's been great going around and meeting up with old friends and proving him wrong."

"I've started with my local friends first, and I met one in Birmingham last week, but I'll soon have to book some time off work to travel around and meet others.

"There's one or two people I know in Devon and I've got a cousin in Germany, but hopefully they'll be able to come here, otherwise it might start to get very expensive.

"I've also got some friends in Australia and Japan, who might be too difficult to meet for now, but that's why I decided to set the number at 730 – two friends a day is still a very good rate."

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Colorado man posts on Facebook moments before murdering daughter

Merrick McKoy allegedly shot and killed 19-month-old Mia McKoy-Phanthavongsa. He wrote on Facebook moments before shooting her that his relationship with the girl’s mother was the motive. The chilling message: ‘I told u I can’t live without u lol u thought I was joking now me n Mia out this b----.’

A jilted Colorado man captured the moment just before he shot his own daughter and then wrote about it on Facebook.

Merrick McKoy gunned down his 19-month-old daughter, Mia McKoy-Phanthavongsa, in an attempted murder-suicide in the Westminster area, according to reports.

Just before the cowardly McKoy, 22, allegedly shot his daughter in the head and killed her, he posted a photo of the two together and wrote several social media missives explaining his motive.

“I told u I can’t live without u lol u thought I was joking now me n Mia out this b----,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

The little girl’s mother, Kimphone “Kim” Phanthavongsa, 21 had an active restraining order against McKoy following domestic violence incident. McKoy was charged with assault, burglary, trespassing and harrassment.

The Monday shooting was his only way out, he reasoned in his final Facebook post. It came five minutes after the photo of him and little Mia was posted to the social media site - and as responding cops tried to get into the apartment where the man had barricaded himself. 

“Don’t judge me had no choice,” he wrote.

Phanthavongsa, 21, frantically phoned police to report McKoy was in her Stuart St. apartment with a gun. The two had a heated argument and she stormed out on Monday.
Cops did not make it in time. McKoy shot the girl in the head and then turned the gun on himself. The father’s condition was not released.

Little Mia’s relatives painted McKoy as a jealous and possessive brute.

“He was the type to say, if you’re not with me, you can’t be with anybody else,” Smaly Chham, the girl’s cousin.

Little Mia had just hit had just hit a major milestone — her first steps — according to friends who knew the little girl.

“She just learned how to walk,” 

“What an angel. Whenever she smiled it was bright.”

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£60,000 worth of bank notes found floating in Lincolnshire river by dog walker

Police have launched an investigation after banknotes worth tens of thousands of pounds were mysteriously found floating down a river.

Detectives are liaising with the Bank of England after £60,000 worth of damaged notes were seen floating in the water by a stunned dog walker - but so far there are no clues to where it has come from. 

The cash was spotted in South Drove Drain near Spalding town centre, Lincolnshire, on Friday 25 October. 

The money was retrieved from the river by officers, whose initial count estimated the cash to be in the region of sixty thousand pounds.

Lincolnshire Police are intending to consult with the Bank of England for assistance with a formal inspection of the money and a final accurate count.

 A large amount of the money has been damaged due to time it spent being the water but there is a good quantity of bank notes that appear to be in fair condition. 

Police are considering detailed forensic examination of the money and have been granted a seizure order by the local Magistrates Court to carry out an investigation into its origins.

DC Steve Hull, of Spalding CID, says, ‘It isn’t everyday that an amount of money like this is found and somebody must have information that will help the police trace the lawful owner.

'I would be grateful to hear from people who have genuine information to pass on to me.'

The money will remain with the police until the investigation is complete. If the money can not be reunited with a legitimate owner then it will become the subject of a further court forfeiture order.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said evidence of ownership of the money would  be required if the owner wishes to come forward.

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Naked woman boards Chicago subway, claims to be ‘Goddess of the Train’

 

The 31-year-old woman, who was not identified, was nude when she entered the L Train at the Granville station on Saturday. She allegedly told riders to leave the train as she headed towards the motorman's car, where she planned to take over the controls.

A 31-year-old woman was tossed in a psychiatric ward after she boarded a Chicago subway naked and claimed to be the “Goddess of the Train,” witnesses and police said.

The wild ordeal unfolded after the woman, who was not identified, stripped down before stepping on an L Train at the Granville station on the city’s north side on Saturday afternoon.

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Florida teen who fatally shot commissioner dad after insult over Megan Fox is guilty of murder

Jason Beckman, now 21, who killed his father, South Miami city commissioner Jay Beckman, after his father joked that he couldn’t ‘handle’ the actress, faces life in prison.

Jason Beckman was found guilty of first degree murder in the death of his father, South Miami city commissioner Jay Beckman in April 2009.

A Florida teen who fatally shot his commissioner father in the face after the man allegedly joked that his son couldn’t “handle” actress Megan Fox has been found guilty of first-degree murder, the Miami Herald reports.

After deliberating for two hours, a jury convicted Jason Beckman just before 9 p.m. Monday in the shooting death of his father, South Miami city commissioner Jay Beckman, four years ago.

Beckman, who was 17 at the time of his father's death, faces life in prison.

Prosecutors described the then South Miami High School student as plotting out his father's death in great length long before carrying out the execution in his home as his father showered.

“He leveled that shotgun, aimed it and he fired,” prosecutor Gail Levine told the jury, the Herald reports.

Defense attorneys had argued that there were no witnesses to the man's death which they called an accident.

Immediately after Jay Beckman was shot, a neighbor reported hearing his son shout, “Oh my God, somebody call 911,” said Defense Attorney Herb Smith.

An inmate who testified against Jason Beckman, now 21, in November instead told the court that Beckman confessed to the crime while behind bars.

He said the fatal blow was over his father delivering a snarky insult over the sultry “Jennifer’s Body” star and Beckman's inability to get physical with her.

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Sex-change politician says she became lesbian after being raped four years after she became a woman

Britain's first sex-change parliamentarian has told how she became a lesbian after she was raped.

Former UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire, 45, was born a boy but had gender reassignment surgery on the NHS 18 years ago.

Today she revealed how four years after the operation, just as she was beginning to find women attractive, she was raped by a man, and subsequently realised she was a lesbian.

Miss Sinclaire, MEP for the West Midlands, founded a new party, We Demand A Referendum Now, campaigning for a referendum on British membership of the European Union, after she was ejected from UKIP after a row over policy.
The ambitious politician now hopes to become Britain's first transsexual MP.

Today she told The Sun how she was the victim of a brutal assault in central London, which she described as  'the most horrendous experience of my life', and one which contributed to her realising she was a lesbian.

In a revealing interview with the paper, Miss Sinclaire said she was walking home along a busy road in central London shortly before midnight when someone gripped her arm and kicked her leg, knocking her over.

She said: 'I gasped, overbalanced and landed painfully with a suffocating weight on top of me.'

After the attack, which she said left her feeling vulnerable despite being brought up in the capital, she went with a nurse friend to a hospital in Dartford, Kent, where DNA samples were taken and medics photographed her bruised body.

Because the attack happened in 1999, before the 2004 change in the law that recognised transsexual people's new genders, the rape was only classified as an assault.

Miss Sinclaire said that she had begun to feel attracted to women shortly before the attack, and had her first sexual experience with a woman with a lesbian she met playing pool in Liverpool.

She said she put the 'scary' idea that she might be attracted to women out of her mind, but said the rape made her 'very anti-men', and contributed to her realising she was a lesbian soon afterwards.

Now the anti-EU politician, who intends to become an MP and cabinet minister, has a long-term female partner who shuns publicity.  They do not live together but have been in a relationship since 2006.

She said her fellow UKIP politicians had been very accepting of her sexuality, whereas she had encountered the most homophobia from Liberal Democrats.

Miss Sinclaire said yesterday she had been 'overwhelmed by all the support' she had received after revealing in the Sun on Sunday that she had had gender reassignment surgery at the age of 23.

Her new book, Never Give Up, tells how until now only her family and close friends were aware of her past.


The book's foreword said: 'There was one great secret that Nikki never shared with anyone other than her family and close friends.

'Hers is a powerful personal story.  Yet she insists it is only one facet of her life, and though it tormented her childhood and teenage years, it is one that no longer dominates her or her future.


It adds: 'As the first "sex change" parliamentarian in Britain, Nikki Sinclaire has made history.

'But she is likely to be far happier, in the future, being known less as a statistic than for her conviction politics.'

Miss Sinclaire is keen that her revelations do not overshadow her politicial ambition, and has commissioned a poll to see whether voters minded if a candidate was transsexual.  It showed that two-thirds of people said it would make no difference to how they voted and fewer than 10 per cent said it would make them much less likely to favour a candidate.

'I don't want my past to overshadow it and believe my constituents will continue to support me,' she said.

Miss Sinclaire, who suffered from depression throughout her teenager years, said she 'knew she was different' before undergoing gender reassignment surgery at the age of 23.

The politician was arrested by West Midlands Police in February last year as part of a probe into allowances and expenses.

However, Miss Sinclaire denies the allegations and remains on bail.

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The rich guys of Instagram show off their incredible wealth with the latest craze in the Persian Gulf for big cats as pets

For mega-wealthy young men of the Gulf Arab states nothing says 'I am rich' more aptly than to Instagram yourself and your lion or cheetah posing alongside your Mercedes or Lamborghini or motoring along in a speedboat.


Showing off the Persian Gulf's latest 'ultimate status symbol', the penchant for posting big cat photos on Instagram betrays the young men's sheer bravado or stupidity, depending on your point of view.

Indeed, while the intimacy on display the owners seem to share with their cats is clearly touching, others could possibly think of better ways to flaunt their wealth than sharing feeding time or bathing with fully grown 400 pound lions.

Rich guys with lions on Instagram: One young man bravely stands atop a Mercedes sports car with lion while a Lamborghini sits to the right - it appears another man has wisely decided to stay inside the Mercedes rather than play with the big cat.

Eagerly followed by over 250,000 followers on the popular photo-sharing website, Humaid AlBuQaish, has become cult viewing as he regularly posts himself and his big cats online.

While it is not entirely clear what AlBuQaish does for a living or how he accumulated his fabulous wealth and pets, it is clear that he lives a life of luxury that most can only dream of.


Trusting his cats implicitly, AlBuQaish is pictured feeding his menagerie of lethal predators and wrestling with them - all the while showing off the fact that he owns such magnificent creatures.
Feeding time: Another mildly disturbing picture reveals that the lions are not without want when it comes to being well looked after.

Open wide: Trust doesn't seem to be an issue with these lions - who are one of nature's most lethal killing machines on the savannah's and plains of Africa as (right) lion ion cubs tuck into food that wouldn't usually be considered to be on the diet of a big cat that roams Africa at the home of one of the rich guys with lions Instagram accounts.

Affection: The trust on display between owner and pet is truly staggering as the lion allows itself to be hugged and gives a ride.

Engaging in one-upmanship online, others have posted pictures of their big cats being taken for a spin in a speedboat - while others are happy to place their heads into their prized possession's mouth.

The trade in big cats in the Gulf reflects how status among the wealthy is all important, where a rare white lion will sell for around $50,000.

Jasim Ali runs the Ras Al Khaimah Wildlife Park in the United Arab Emirates and he adopts and cares for those animals that are discarded once they become too large and dangerous for their boastful owners.

Showing off: Taking to the water in their speed boat the only accessory needed is clearly a cheetah who seems very much into the ride while (right) another display of trust between a lioness and her owner
Not worried about scratches then? One lioness is allowed to sit atop the owners Mercedes sports car while his friend takes refuge inside the expensive car model.

Bathtime: The lions of Instagram get cleaned up after a hard days play with their owner who seems unworried about being so close to the deadly predators


Write caption here

'If someone buys a very expensive animal, he is boasting that he has enough money to get anything he wants,' he said to CNN.


'If he has a tamed wild animal like a lion, he is trying to show off that he is brave. But this is not courage; this is animal rights abuse.'


Of course there is nothing to suggest that any of those in these pictures would openly flaunt ownership of illegal animals so publicly online.


However, the problem is such that in 2010 over 200 illegal animals were confiscated in the United Arab Emirates in 2010.


Among the animals taken into custody are white lions, tigers, panthers and cheetahs as well as hyenas
Relaxing: Another lion and his owner relax in a picture posted to the account of Humaid AlBuQaish - who regularly updates his Instagram account with pictures of his incredible big cats
And when this animal bites his head off people will...

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Get Paid $100 a Day... to Review Public Toilets

 Need some extra cash?

 If you live in New York and are willing to spend a lot of time in public restrooms, you can earn $100 a day for reviewing the facilities, the Daily Dot reports.

Michael Li, the creator of ToiletFinder.com, which helps people find nearby restrooms, makes the offer on Craigslist: He needs a copywriter and business partner, and instead of just accepting résumés and cover letters, he's asking candidates to submit "humorous" toilet reviews that are "creative, helpful, and slightly disgusting." 

Anyone who makes him laugh gets $20; the winner gets the gig—and the $100/day to keep the reviews coming.                                                                

                                                                     Need some extra cash? If you live in New York and are willing to spend a lot of time in public restrooms, you can earn $100 a day for reviewing the facilities, the Daily Dot reports. Michael Li, the creator of ToiletFinder.com, which helps people find nearby restrooms, makes the offer on Craigslist: He needs a copywriter and business partner, and instead of just accepting résumés and cover letters, he's asking candidates to submit "humorous" toilet reviews that are "creative, helpful, and slightly disgusting." Anyone who makes him laugh gets $20; the winner gets the gig—and the $100/day to keep the reviews coming.                                                                 

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Cigarette-smoking toddler who shocked the world with his 40-a-day habit has given up... but now he's addicted to food

At the age of two he shocked the world after being pictured chain-smoking cigarettes.

Two years on he's now a normal, cheeky five-year-old - and, while he's managed to kick the habit, he now has another addiction. Food.

Aldi Rizal became an international media sensation when he was discovered in a poor village in Sumatra, Indonesia, puffing on a cigarette while riding his tricycle.

The outcry led to the Indonesian government launching a campaign to tackle the problem of children smoking and organising special rehabilitation treatment to help Aldi quit.

Aldi was taken for play therapy sessions in the capital Jakarta for two weeks to take his mind off his 40-a-day habit and learn to be a normal toddler for the first time.

A new documentary series revisits the family two years on to find out how Aldi is getting on and reveals he has managed to stay off the cigarettes, but is still dangerously unhealthy.


During his rehabilitation treatment, Aldi saw psychiatrists who encouraged his mother to keep him busy with playing and taught her about the dangers of smoking.

One of them - Dr Kak Seto - still sees Aldi and his family at regular intervals to ensure he is not falling back into old habits.

His mother Diane Rizal, 28, said: 'There are many people still offering Aldi cigarettes, but Aldi no. He says "I love Kak Seto. He would be sad if I started smoking again and made myself ill."


'At first when we were weaning Aldi off the cigarettes he would have terrible tantrums and I would call Dr Seto for help.

'But now he doesn't want them.'
However, Mrs Rizal is now worried about her son's weight, as he developed food cravings while quitting smoking, and now has a big appetite.

Mrs Rizal said the strong-willed little boy now demands food in the same way he used to beg for cigarettes, and the family struggles not to give in to his tantrums.

Mrs Rizal said: 'When Aldi first quit smoking he would demand a lot of toys.

'He would bang his head on the wall if he couldn't get what he wanted. That's why I get him cigarettes in the first place - because of his temper and his crying.

'Now I don't give him cigarettes, but he eats a lot. With so many people living in the house it's hard to stop him from getting food.'
Aldi also helps his mother and father Mohamed out on their market stall, where his bright bubbly character and cheekiness wins him lots of attention.

'I feel happy when people want to speak to him because the know him,' admitted Mrs Rizal.

'But I feel annoyed when they refer to him as 'the smoking kid'. It makes me feel like they are accusing me of being a bad parent.'

Mr and Mrs Rizal decided to take Aldi to a nutritionist for medical checks and now they've been given advice on how to put him on a healthier diet so he can start to lose some weight.

'Aldi is very overweight, his weight doesn't match his age,' said nutritionist Fransisca Dewi. 'His ideal weight is 17kg to 19kg. He's 24kg already.

'I think it is difficult for them. The mother says Aldi is a spoilt kid. If Diana wants to forbid him eating, it will be hard.

'She will need the cooperation from the entire household. One obvious thing is they let him have too much condensed milk. He drinks three cans a day and eats too many carbohydrates.'

Paediatric specialist Dr William Nawawi is also concerned that smoking at an early age has made Aldi more likely to suffer weight issues.

He explained: 'Nicotine can increase the endocrine hormone in the body. This condition can cause resistance to insulin.

'The blood will not be able to break glucose from food. This will make Aldi become bigger and bigger.'

Now, Aldi is back at home in his fishing village and is on a strict diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and smaller portions.
Mrs Rizal must also persuade Aldi's siblings and the rest of the family not to give in and provide him with junk food when she is not around.

Doctors hope that if Aldi can lose around half a stone to a stone, his weight will eventually even out as he starts to grow taller.
It is thought one-third of children in Indonesia try smoking before the age of ten. The Government has launched efforts to tackle the problem.

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Salt of the earth: Stunning 5,000-year-old mines inside caves and tunnels in Turkey which are still in use today

From the surface there is nothing special about the hilly countryside around the city of Cankiri in Turkey.

However 1,300ft below ground is a stunning salt mine which was first dug by primitive humans around 5,000 years ago.

Despite its incredible age the mine is still in use today and produces more then 500 tonnes of salt each year which is used in cooking and for a range of souvenirs.

According to a 1971-79 survey there is still more than 1billion tonnes of ore left in the mine, which is extracted using machines and underground blasting.

These pictures were taken by Melih Sular, 32, who was guided through the caves by Murat Danaci as part of the National Geographic photography contest.

He said: 'When I first entered the salt cave I was afraid. I thought to myself: "What happens if it collapses?"

He added: 'I've never seen anything like it before. The most striking part of the caves is the old gallery, which were dug by Hittites.

'It's interesting because they dug this gallery with simple tools and their own hands, unlike today's methods.'

While temperatures in the city regularly reach 92 Fahrenheit (33C), the mercury never strays much above 59 degrees (15C) inside the ancient caves.


The Hitties were an ancient race who built an empire in the Middle East which covered most of modern-day central Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq and flourished between 1,400 and 1,200BC.

They were famous for their skill in building and making chariots and wrote in a hieroglyphic-type language called cuneiform.

They were eventually destroyed after several costly wars, particularly a defeat to the army of Ramses II, pharaoh of the Egyptians. Competition for succession of the throne also drained their resources.

Today the mine has 16 workers and contains a small canteen, a mosque, repair room, workshop and a first aid room.

All the ore extracted from the mine, which measures in at around 90 per cent purity, is taken by diggers to nearby railway tracks where it is transported to a factory for processing.

There is so much salt contained in the ground around the mine that it appears around the edge of a nearby lake after being dissolved into the water.

• Salt mine is located outside of Cankiri city in northern Turkey
• It was first mined by ancient race called Hittites in 3000BC
• Despite its age it still produces 500 tonnes of salt a year
• Photographs were taken for National Geographic contest

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Mother gave away THREE babies by knocking at strangers' door: Heart-warming story of how siblings were reunited after 60 years

No one will ever know what went through the young mother’s mind as she knocked on doors, begging strangers to take her three-month- old daughter.

It was the summer of 1946 in the Potteries village of Bucknall.

She was turned down twice before the third stranger agreed to take her baby in.

At which point Rosemary, then 28, promptly disappeared to fetch the baby’s few belongings from her lodgings around the corner.

It was a brutal — some might say callous — parting, which would have far-reaching ramifications.

‘I was that baby,’ says Rita Holford, who 67 years on is visibly shaken by the very thought. ‘To this day I can’t get over being given away like that — and by someone who went to great lengths to ensure I would never find her.’

Even more shocking is the fact that Rita was one of three unwanted babies — dubbed Rosemary’s Secrets — rejected by the same woman within seven years.

 

And it seems all three were abandoned in the same manner — by their mother banging on strangers’ doors until someone took in the babies. 

Though Rita has uncovered many clues — including the fact her mother also had two daughters she decided to keep —  Rosemary’s motivation remains a  mystery: what possessed her to just give away three of her five children?

We know she was a barmaid brought up in Northumberland.

She had jet-black hair and loved dancing. We know she was married at least twice. We know her maiden name was Redmayne and her first married name was Tweddell. 

She moved from lodging to lodging in the Potteries. And that’s it.

‘When I discovered the story I was so angry about it all,’ says Rita. ‘Then when I later find out I had two brothers I felt angry for all those wasted years when we didn’t know each other. It seems so unfair.’

All this would be inconceivable in today’s era of adoption agencies, vetting by social workers and criminal records checks.

But just after the war, simply giving a child away was a fast solution for a desperate woman gambling that a bonny baby would stir maternal instincts in a stranger with the means to feed and clothe her.

Fortunately, Rita found herself in a warm, loving family. ‘My mother, Lily, may not have been the woman who gave birth to me, but she was wonderful,’ says Rita.

‘She dedicated her whole life to bringing me up.’ 

Lily Corden, a factory worker, was married to Harold, a bus driver, and they had a 15-year-old son when Rita entered their lives.
Lily told friends that she didn’t hesitate when Rosemary came to her door, attracted by the beautiful, bouncing baby in her arms. 

It may seem astonishing that she welcomed a new arrival with such a calm, matter-of-fact attitude — but it’s entirely in keeping with her character. For she and her husband created a blissfully happy home for Rita — until 11 years on, tragedy struck when Harold, then 54, died of thrombosis.

It was then that Rita discovered she had been adopted. ‘I was watching my mother go through insurance  papers when I spotted a paper headed “adoption”,’ she says.

‘As soon as she saw me trying to peek, she snatched it away. But I sneaked back into the living room when she went to work and found my adoption certificate. It was incredibly shocking.


‘Though I knew the papers must be telling the truth, I couldn’t believe I was adopted by this woman who had taken such wonderful care of me.’

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San Antonio Man sentenced to 50 years for child beating

SAN ANTONIO — A man convicted by a jury last month of causing serious bodily injury to a 2-year-old girl, including internal bleeding and broken ribs, was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison.

Jimmy Turner, 32, faced up to life in prison for the first-degree felony. After the guilty verdict, he opted to have state District Judge Maria Teresa Herr assess his punishment.

Prosecutor Karl Alexander asked the judge to give Turner 50 years in prison, while defense attorney Scott Simpson asked the judge for a sentence of less than 10 years.

Turner took the stand at one point and, while maintaining his innocence, asked the judge for a sentence that would allow him to see his 10-year-old son graduate from high school.

Witnesses outside a San Antonio meat market called police in May 2012 to report that Turner was repeatedly punching the girl in the stomach in the back seat of a car, court documents state.

The child's mother, Crystal Marie Apreciado, 21, is set to be sentenced next week for injury to a child by omission. She has applied for deferred adjudication probation.

In interviews with police, Apreciado confessed that Turner had hit the girl in the past and didn't like her because “she was not his biological daughter,” according to court documents.

Dr. John Doski, who performed emergency surgery on the girl, testified Friday that she had a total of nine broken ribs and internal injuries that, if left untreated, would have killed her.

The girl lost 20 percent of her blood during the three-hour operation and required a transfusion. She spent the next 10 days in the hospital.

Turner, formerly a known member of the Mexican Mafia, requested that he be placed in protective custody after his arrest for this crime, Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Nick Rochatestified. While the exact reason wasn't documented, Rocha said the gang “doesn't look kindly” on those who commit crimes against children.

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California teacher accused of sexual 'tasting games' with students to plead no contest to molestation

A once-respected former teacher accused of committing lewd acts on children in what he called "tasting games" is expected to plead no contest Friday to all the charges against him.

Mark Berndt, 62, plans to enter the legal equivalent of guilty pleas to 23 charges and receive 25 years in prison, according to John Manly, an attorney who represents 30 of his Miramonte Elementary School students and their parents.

Manly said Thursday that he was notified of the plea by prosecutors, who urged a plea deal because "they were concerned about re-traumatizing the children at trial."

He called the agreement, first reported by the Daily News of Los Angeles, a victory for his clients.

"He's going to jail essentially for the rest of his life," Manly said. "You can't ask for more than that."

The district attorney's office and Berndt's lawyer declined to comment in advance of the court hearing.

Berndt is expected to admit that he blindfolded students while spoon-feeding them semen-laced cookies and sometimes putting huge cockroaches on them.

Sean Rossall, a district spokesman, said 63 lawsuits filed on behalf of victims have been settled for a total of $29.5 million, and 71 more are pending.

He said the district had not seen the plea agreement and wouldn't comment until it's entered in court.

Berndt, who taught for 32 years at the South Los Angeles school, was removed in 2011.

The allegations against him came to light when a drugstore photo technician noticed dozens of odd photos of blindfolded third-graders and reported them to authorities. Investigators said they discovered a plastic spoon in Berndt's classroom trash bin. Tests found traces of semen on it.

The Miramonte case led to a wide-ranging overhaul of how the nation's second-largest school district handles allegations of sexual abuse after it was revealed that previous complaints about Berndt's behavior were ignored. It also showed how slowly state officials act to censure teachers and led to a flurry of allegations of teacher-student sex abuse in the district and in other school systems.

Shortly after Berndt's arrest, the school district temporarily removed all 76 of the school's teachers, along with staff and administrators, putting them on leave and having them report to an empty high school nearby. Six months later, when the new school year began, 43 of them returned to a restructured Miramonte with a new principal. The rest either retired or went to new schools. None was accused of any wrongdoing.

Manly denounced the district for allowing Berndt to continue teaching after complaints in the 1990s.

"For all intents and purposes, this man murdered these children emotionally," he said, noting all of the children are in therapy. He said some have developed severe eating disorders as a result of the abuse.

Another Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, is charged with lewd acts on a child in a case involving a second-grader that authorities said was fondled in class in 2009. Springer is awaiting trial.

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Killer driver freed because he's French: Motorist on wrong side of the road forgot he was in Britain, say judges

Alexis Fleury with his girlfriend

A driver who killed a father of two by driving on the wrong side of the road has been freed by Appeal Court judges because he is French.

Alexis Sebastien Fleury had ‘lower culpability’ for causing the death of 62-year-old David Crane than a British driver would have done, the judges ruled.

Mr Crane, of Rolvenden, Kent, was on his way home from work at 11.30pm on August 3, 2012, when his Skoda Fabia was hit head-on by Fleury’s grey Renault Laguna on the A28 near Tenterden.

Charity fundraiser Mr Crane, who was a carer for his disabled wife,  suffered multiple injuries and died at the scene.

Fleury was acquitted by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving but was convicted of causing death by  careless driving in July and jailed for 18 months.

Yesterday Lord Justice Lloyd Jones, Mr Justice Irwin and Mr Justice Green, sitting at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, halved that sentence to nine months – meaning 25-year-old Fleury will walk free next week. 

The court heard that Fleury from Orleans, central France, was driving to visit his English girlfriend, Emily Crick, in Wadhurst, East Sussex. He had travelled from France through the Eurotunnel.

Fleury performed a U-turn and was driving down the wrong side of the road, when he crashed head-on into Mr Crane’s car.

The Frenchman had been awake for 16 hours and had been driving for six and a-half hours at the time.

But his lawyers argued that there was ‘no evidence’ that he had been tired, because he napped on the shuttle through the tunnel.

Fleury said during his trial: ‘I missed my turning and decided to do a  U-turn. I was driving for a few seconds and saw headlights just in front of me and boom.’

Mr Justice Irwin said: ‘This young man made a mistake at the end of his journey. As a Frenchman, used to driving on the right-hand side of the road, he remained on the right-hand side of the road after his U-turn. He did a U-turn in the dark in England and, for moments or minutes, forgot that he was not driving in France. 

‘The culpability of a British driver in the same circumstances would have been very high indeed. For somebody from France, the culpability must  be reduced.’

Fleury’s lawyers said outside court that the reduced sentence means he will be released from prison at the beginning of  next week.

Mr Justice Irwin expressed his sympathy for Mr Crane’s family, saying: ‘He was a very good and loving father to two daughters, and a husband who looked after his disabled partner.

‘They are all terribly distraught about their loss. It is clear that he was a good man and his death has caused great loss and pain.’

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Meet UK's most glamorous grandmother 54-year-old beauty queen making a living as a Liz Hurley lookalike

With her wrinkle-free skin, glossy dark mane and mega-watt smile, Annemarie Leak, 54, certainly isn't your average grandmother.

Now the Lincolnshire former model and Liz Hurley lookalike has been crowned the UK's most glamorous grandparent and credits her success to being celibate for more than 10 years.

But saying that remaining single has kept her looking young, divorcee Annemarie, who says she was an 'ugly duckling' has revealed that she is searching for love.

'I was married in 1984 but then divorced by 1988 and have been single for most of my adult life,' she revealed.

'Men are not top of my list but it would be nice to have a man on my arm to take me to these events, I have got so many nice clothes to wear.

'I think it has proved that looking good is not always good. I don't know what it is, maybe men have never known how to approach me.

'There was never much interest in me when I was at school either, I used to think I was the ugly duckling, but maybe the boys are scared of me.

'I don't know what it is about us, neither of my daughters are married either. I have found relationships really difficult, I had the occasional boyfriend when I was younger but it only lasted a couple of months at a time.'

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Girl who bedded three men a week named 'Britain's horniest student' in revolting online competition where young women are encouraged to have sex at university for cash prize

A computer science student who boasts of sleeping with up to three men every week has been named Britain's Horniest Student after entering a degrading online competition.

Elina Desaine, 20, doesn't even know the names of all her sexual partners, but tries to keep track with handwritten list using descriptions such as 'French guy' and 'third year' to recall her trysts. 

The University of Exeter student received £500 and a year's supply of condoms after winning the competition run by controversial 'no strings attached fun' website, Shagatuni.com. 

The former pupil of the £4,000-a-term James Allens Girls' School said one of her proudest moments is having sex in a university computer room, and admitted her ultimate goal is to seduce a lecturer. 

Despite being begged by her housemates to take tests for sexually transmitted illnesses, the student claims she is 'just having fun'. 

'All my friends are the same - we are all just up for having a great time and going out. 

'Uni life is three years to be wild before it starts settling down and it really flies by.' 

The third year IT management student keeps a list of her sexual partners or, in her words, 'conquests' but struggles to remember all their names.

'I have to put descriptions or question marks instead of names.'

'My friends were worried about what future employers might say but I hope they see it as a bit of fun, and it shows I am more confident than the average girl.'

Entrants were encouraged to post pleas to win the title on the 'casual dating' website's Facebook page.

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Priceless 3,000-year-old statue is stolen from museum in Egypt.

 

 Egyptian authorities issued an international alert after the limestone carving – called Daughter of the Pharaoh Akhenaten – was taken

A priceless 3,000- year-old statue of King Tutankhamun’s sister has been looted from a museum in Egypt.

Egyptian authorities issued an international alert after the limestone carving – called Daughter of the Pharaoh Akhenaten – was stolen along with 1,000 other exhibits.

The statue vanished when the museum in the central city of Mallawi was looted amid clashes between police and Islamist extremists this summer.

Experts fear that the exquisite statuette, carved in the 14th century BC, was stolen to order under the cover of the riots and could now be sold abroad.

It was the museum’s most prized exhibit and was due to be transferred to a new museum dedicated to the family of Akhenaten – Tutankhamun’s father. More than 600 valuables have been returned or seized by police, but a collection of gold coins, statues of sacred ibis birds and the statue have still not been found.

Archaeologist Monica Hanna said: “I think the looters knew what they were taking.”

Robbers left just 46 items in the museum that were too heavy to carry off.

In the first days of the revolution in 2011 looters stole treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb on display at the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Intruders also broke apart two mummies, removing their heads.

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BRITAIN'S dumbest burglars were caught after left his name and address at crime scene

The dozy pair of career criminals left complete contact details after the robbery at the four star Kilburn Guest House in Bridlington, East Yorks.

Repeat offender Robert Taylor, 36, had just been released from prison for a previous burglary offence when he and William Shearon, 23, carried out the break-in.

The crooks, both from Bridlington, Yorks, stole a television, a mobile phone and charity cash from RNLI collection boxes as well as alcohol and money from the bar.

They also drove the hotel owner's Ford Mondeo off the drive.

But they were soon caught after the owner was woken by his dogs barking at 5am and found the charity boxes had been dumped outside the hotel, along with alcohol and Taylor's prison paperwork.

Among the paperwork was a letter addressed to Taylor, which included details of his release from prison just hours earlier, along with his name and address.

The police were informed and launched a search of the area to find Taylor and the bungling pair were found in the area a few hours later.

Taylor pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to burglary, taking a vehicle without consent and theft and has been jailed for two years, along with his accomplice, Shearon.

Judge Michael Mettyear, Honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding, told him: "You have more than 40 offences of theft and everything has been tried with you over the years. It may well be that drink and drugs has played a part but that is no consolation to your victims or an excuse."

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